Otis Redding Albums Ranked

Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Redding’s style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s.
Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, and at the age of 2, moved to Macon, Georgia. Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard’s backing band, the Upsetters, and by performing in talent shows at the historic Douglass Theatre in Macon. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins’s band, the Pinetoppers, with whom he toured the Southern states as a singer and driver. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, “These Arms of Mine”, in 1962.
Redding received many posthumous accolades, including two Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition to “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “Respect” and “Try a Little Tenderness” are among his best-known songs. Here are all of Otis Redding’s albums ranked.

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10. It’s Not Just Sentimental (2000)

“. Truth be told, almost anything the man recorded is worth checking out. The album’s selling point is that it’s full of outtakes and alternate versions of classic songs by Memphis’s other king. There are legendary stories of Otis walking into Stax Records, smiling ear to ear, the McLemore Avenue studio buzzing with a new found energy. This album is certainly also a delight for fans of Otis. You get to be right there along for the ride for takes one and two of “The Dock Of the Bay”. Take one will take you off guard as Steve Cropper’s earnest guitar starts a strummin’ and Otis lets out some tongue and cheek “caws”, which would apparently give Cropper the idea to later overdub the familiar ocean sounds. “

9. Love Man (1969)

“”Love Man”, 1969, more unreleased recordings the gritty singer from Georgia recorded in 1967 before his tragic death. This album may be Otis Redding’s best overall compilation, not forgetting “Otis Blue” his best performance as a whole. “The Dictionary Of Soul”, “Dock Of The Bay”, and “The Immortal” also hold up well in the limited Redding catalog. Otis and the MG’s are energized and extremely relaxed on these recordings, at the same time you have to wonder why these twelve songs were hiding in the vaults – “I’M A CHANGED MAN”, “LOVE MAN”, “DIRECT ME”, “GROOVIN’ TIME”, “I’LL LET NOTHING SEPARATE US”, and Jackie Wilson’s, “YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME HIGHER”, Brook Benton’s, “LOVER’S QUESTION”, and others added to make this a soul classic. Essential Redding, then again most of his recordings are.”

8. The Immortal Otis Redding (1968)

“How many other posthumous albums are of this quality? I can’t think of any that are this consistent (Jimi Hendrix’s Cry Of Love & Rainbow Bridge are totally essential to any fan IMO but for some, a few tracks on them seem a little out of place.) Next to Otis Blue, this is one that you NEED to have (unless you don’t like his music – then… why would you be reading this?) Some say this is his most soulful album and as it doesn’t really have anything like the novelty of a Rolling Stones or Sam Cooke number, played at in intense pace – I’d have to agree with that. Wonderful.”

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7. Here Comes Some Soul From Otis Redding and Little Joe Curtis (1967)

“This album was a gift and is truly amazing collection of Soul. Why the pre Stax recordings by Otis our great addition to a fans collection the big prize here is the remarkable recordings of Lil Joe Curtis. I’ve been unable to find information on Curtis and would love to obtain more recordings…”

6. The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965)

“He encapsulates what it means to love and experience heart break and express that through music. His voice has such subtlety. There aren’t many artists out there that can use their voice in such a way. He has one of the most amazing voices and although his life and career were cut short, he left an amazing amount of music for us to appreciate now. He leaves everything out there in each song.”

5. Pain in My Heart (1964)

“Otis Redding is among my favorite music artists. His music is unbeatable! I have a library of his music and am constantly adding to it. I love his style. It’s as though he is still alive. For anyone in a slight downward mood, put some Otis on the “old stereo”, and I guarantee you will come “alive!” On this particular CD, it’s obvious, his heart and soul is in it! Buy it-you won’t be disappointed.”

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4. The Soul Album (1966)

“Otis Redding never recorded a bad song or much less a bad album, capable of taking on any ol’ song at hand and simply turning it golden. THE SOUL ALBUM, 1966, was Redding’s fourth and his third, OTIS BLUE, was a mighty tough act to follow, and yet still, THE SOUL ALBUM, holds it’s own in the very limited Otis Redding catalog, containing Redding co-written songs, JUST ONE MORE DAY, GOOD TO ME, ANY OLE WAY, the rest of the album consist of covers, Cooke’s, CHAIN GANG, Pickett’s,634-5789, – co-written by guitarist Steve Cropper, also including, SCRATCH MY BACK and the ballad, CIGARETTES AND COFFEE. “

3. Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul (1966)

“I’ve been collecting Otis Redding’s albums over the past year or so. I’m increasingly worried that the CDs will go out of print eventually. I started off with Otis Blue, followed by Sings Soul Ballads. Then I reluctantly bought Pain in My Heart and King & Queen, although they turned out to be completely worth it. I was delaying purchasing the record I knew I wanted the most, Dictionary of Soul. The album only intermittently appeared in stock as a product sold and shipped by Amazon (I’m skeptical of other sellers), and usually the price was more than I was willing to pay, there being so few copies available. After a long drought, a copy appeared, and I grabbed it up, despite the cost. It is without a doubt the greatest of his albums, and I think a fitting final solo record.”

2. The Dock of the Bay (1968)

“Outside of the admittedly perfect opener/title track, the album Dock of the Bay is a disjointed and uneven effort not meeting the standard set by the phenomenal classic Otis Blue in 1965. Taken as a whole, it is also inferior to The Immortal Otis Redding record, the follow-up to this, the first posthumous Redding release. There is no denying that most of the songs are at least enjoyable to listen or dance to, but only the title track gives the listener a true impression of the kind of talent the world lost in that 1967 plane crash.”

1. Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

“Arguably one of the best soul albums ever, or at least of the 60’s. Few studio soul albums from the 60’s (not by Aretha Franklin) have the kind of grit and intenseness of soul that this album has. Otis Blue is one the few consistent (non-live) albums that represented what was great about the Stax soul sound of the mid to late 60’s which was that it was always had a sense of bluesy grit to it. Otis could do everything with soulful grit, regardless of the song. Otis made each song his own, leading you to forget that much of the album is cover songs, not that that’s a bad thing, it just depends on how you do it and Otis did it incredibly well.”